The biggest contracts that states typically award are given to insurance companies that agree to manage benefits and pay claims for people getting health insurance through the state’s Medicaid program.
CareSource has built its core business around these awards. It has grown to cover 2 million members in Ohio as well as Georgia, Indiana, Kentucky, and West Virginia, primarily through Medicaid.
On Sept. 29, CareSource said it intends to submit a proposal to cover Iowans Medicaid and Children’s Health Insurance Program.
“Our industry-leading social programs, complex care capabilities and core operations will result in improved quality and health outcomes for Iowa’s Medicaid population, while also providing a better experience for both members and the providers who care for them,” Erhardt Preitauer, CareSource president and CEO, said in a statement.
CareSource and other hopefuls are expected to be able to submit proposals starting December 2021 to the Iowa Department of Human Services. The department is aiming to announce winners fall 2022 and launch the new contracts under new terms spring 2023.
CareSource recently bid to expand to Oklahoma but was not awarded a contract. In Arkansas, the insurer is part of a deal with several other groups that in 2022 will manage benefits for Medicaid members with complex behavioral health, developmental and intellectual disabilities.
In August, the insurer submitted a bid to keep managing Medicaid plans in Indiana and are expecting to hear an answer early 2022.
CareSource also was just re-accepted by Ohio Medicaid, though under the new terms and conditions of the overhauled program.
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